Balmes the Art of Thinking Well

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REDEEMER LIBRARY. WINDSORTHE

ART OF THINKING WELLX

BY

REV. JAMES BALMES,AUTHOR OF "LETTERS TO A SCEPTIC," ETC.

from % SfpanisjjBY

REV. WILLIAM MCDONALD, D.D.

PRECEDED BY A LIFE OF THE

DUBLINM. H. GILL & SON, 50 UPPER SACKVILLE-ST.1882.


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PRINTED BY M. H. GILL AND SON, 50 UPPER SACKVILLE-ST., DUBLIN.


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I AIMED at two things in this translation of one ofBalmes' minor works ist, to give a true and literaltranslation ; and, 2nd, to preserve the author's style asfar as possible.When Balmes wrote his pamphlet in defence of thereforms of Pius IX., Spanish churchmen's ideas werealmost entirely conservative and totally opposed toany liberal changes. Hence the bitter receptionwhich that pamphlet met with at the hands of manyof Balmes' own friends. I think it right to mentionthis in explanation of the unworthy motives theyascribed to him in defending the Pope, and the harshnames they called him, as mentioned in his Life.

TRANSLATOR.


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CONTENTS.Life of Barnes, . . H

THE AET OF THINKING WELL.CHAPTER I.

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS, 755 1. The meaning of To Think Well. What is Truth? ? n. Different modesof knowing the truth. in. Variety of talents. ? iv. The perfectionof a profession depends on the perfection with which its objects areknown. 5 v. To think weil is of importance to everyone. vi. Howone may be taught to think weH;

CHAPTER II.ATTENTION, 80

i. Definition of attention. Its necessity. ? ii. Advantages of attention,and drawbacks of the want of it. in. What sort of attention wemean. The thoughtless and the absent-minded. J iv. Interruptions.CHAPTER III.

CHOICE OF A PROFESSION,5 I. Vague signification of the word talent. ? 11. The instinct which pointsout the profession for which we are best adapted. ITI. Experiment todiscern the peculiar talent of a child.

CHAPTER IV.QUESTIONS OF POSSIBILITY, 87

i. A classification of the acts of OUT understanding, and of the questionswhich can present themselves to it. $ 11. Ideas of possibility and im-possibility. Their classifications. in. In what metaphysical, or abso-lute, impossibility consist. ? iv. Absolute impossibility and divineomnipotence. ? v. Absolute impossibility and dogmas. vi. Idea ofphysical, or natural, impossibility. 5 vn. Mode of judging of naturalimpossibility. viu. A difficulty about the miracles of our Lord issolved. ix. Moral, or ordinary, impossibility. $x. Impossibility ofcommon sense improperly confounded with moral impossibility.

CHAPTER V.QUESTIONS ABOUT EXISTENCE. KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED BY IMME-DIATE TESTIMONY OF THE SENSES, 98

i. Necessity of the testimony of the senses, and the different ways it givesus a knowledge of things. n. Errors occasioned by the senses. Theirremedy. Examples. ?m. Necessity of employing more than one sense,sometimes, for due comparison. iv. The sound of fcdy and infirm ofmind. v. Real sensations, but without external Jbjects. Explana-tion of this phenomenon. vi. jAdinen and the absent-minded.


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6 Contents.CHAPTER VI. PAGE

KNOWLEDGE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THINGS ACQUIRED DIRECTLYBY THE SENSES 106? i. Transition from whatisjperceived by the senses to what is not. 5 n. Co-existence and succession. in Two rules on co-existence and suc-

cession. \ iv. Observations on the relation of causality. A rule oflogicians. \ v. An example. \ vi. Reflections on the foregoinexample. \ vn. The reason of an act which appears instinctive.

CHAPTER VII.LOGIC IN ACCORD WITH CHARITY, 118

} i. Wisdom of the law prohibiting rash judgments. \ n. Examination ofthe maxim "Think ill, and you'll not be far astray." \ in Some rulesto judge of the conduct of men.

CHAPTER VIII.ON HUMAN AUTHORITY IN GENERAL, 126

? i. Two conditions necessary to render testimony of weight. \ n. Exami-nation and applications of the first condition. \ in. Examination andapplications of the second condition. ? iv. An observation on interestin deceiving. v. Difficulties of getting at the truth of what occurs ata great distance of place and time.

CHAPTER IX.NEWSPAPERS, 137

i. An illusion. n. Newspapers do not say all they krow about persons.in. Newspapers do not tell the whole truth about things.CHAPTER X.

BOOKS OF TRAVEL, 141i. Two very different parts of traveller's narratives. n. Origin and for-mation of some books of travels. m. Mode of studying a country.

CHAPTER XI.HISTORY, 147

i. Means of saving time, aiding the memory, and avoiding errors in his-torical studies. 11. Distinction between the body of the fact and itscircumstances. Applications. in. Some rules for the study of history.

CHAPTER XII.GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE MEANS OF KNOWING THENATURE, PROPERTIES, AND RELATION OF BEINGS, . . . 158

i. A classification of sciences. n. Scientific prudence and observationsto attain it. in. Great and learned men resuscitated.CHAPTER XIII.

GOOD PERCEPTION, 170i. Ideas. 11. Rule for perceiving well. in. Danger of analysis. TV.The dyer and philosopher. v. Objects scan on one side only. vi.Evil results of too rapid perception.


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Contents. 7CHAPTER XIV. FADE

JUDGMENT, 182i. What judgment is. Sources of error. n. False maxims. in. Toogeneral propositions. iv. Inexact definitions. v. Ill-defined words.Examination of the word " equality." vr. Gratuitous suppositions.The dead body in the precipice. vii. Prejudice in favour of a doctrine.

CHAPTER XV.REASONING, 209

i. What dialectic principles and rules are worth, n. The syllogism. Ob-servations on this dialectic instrument. in. The enthymeme. iv.Relit ctions on the middle term. v. Utility of the dialectic forms.CHAPTER XVI.

ALL IS NOT DONE BY REASONING, 208I. Inspiration. n. Meditation. m. Invention and instruction. iv.Intuition. v. The difficulty is not in comprehending but in divining.The chess-player. Sobieski. Hannibal's vipers. vi. Rule for medi.

tating. vn. Characteristic of elevated intelligences. Remarkabledoctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas. vni. Necessity of labour.CHAPTER XVII.

TEACHING, 219i. Two objects of teaching. Different classes of professors. 5 n. Geniusesunknown to others and to themselves. ni. Means to discover occulttalent and to appreciate its value. \ iv. Necessity of elementarystudies.

CHAPTER XVIII.INVENTION, 229

? i. What one should do who is devoid of the talent of invention. 11. Scien-tific authority. \ in. Modifications which scientific authority hassuffered in our times. \ iv. The talent of invention. Career of genius.

CHAPTER XIX.THE UNDERSTANDING, THE HEART, AND THE IMAGINATION, . 234

? i. Discretion in the use of the faculties of the soul. Queen Dido. Alex-ander. n. Influence of the heart on the head. Causes and effects.in. Eugene. His transformations in four-and-twenty hours. iv.Mr. Marceline. His political changes. v. Anselm. His variationsabout the pain of death. vi. Some observations to guard against theinfluence of the heart. vn. The friend converted into a monster.viii. Unsteady variations of political judgments ix. Dangers ofmuch sensibility. Men of great talents. Poets. x. The poet and the

monastery. xi. Necessity of having fixed ideas. xn. Duties oforatory, poetry, and the fine arts. xm. Illusion caused by thoughtsdressed up in images.CHAPTER XX.

PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, 265i. In what philosophy of history consists. Difficulty of acquiring it. n.A means of advancing in the philosophy of history is indicated. 111.

Application to the history of the human mind. iv. An example takenfrom physiognomy, which throws light on what we have said about ad-vancing in the philosophy of history.


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Contents.

CHAPTER XXI. PAGERELIGION, 271

i. Senseless reasoning of sceptics in religious matters. n. The indiffe-rentist and the human race. in. Transition from indifl'erentism toexamination. Existence of God. iv. It is impossible for all religionsto be true. v. It is impossible that all religions are equally pleas-ing to God. vi. It is impossible that all religions are a human in-vention. vn. Revelation is possible. vin. Solution of a difficultyagainst revelation. ix. Consequence of the foregoing paragraphs.x. Existence of revelation. xi. Historical proofs of the existenceof revelation. \ xn. Protestants and the Catholic Church. x.n.Wrong method of some impugners of religion, xiv. The highest phi-losophy in accord with faith. xv. He who abandons the Catholic re-ligion knows not where to take refuge.

CHAPTER XXII.PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING 289

i. A classification of actions. n. Difficulty of proposing a proper end.111. Examination of the proverb, "Every man is the child of his

actions." iv. The man detested . v. The ruined man. vi. Thelearned bankrupt and the ignorant millionaire. vn. Observations.Facile reasoning and good sense. vm. Delicacy of certain intellectualphenomena in their relations with practice. ix. Nonsense. x.Crooked understandings. xi. Unfitness of such men for business,xn. This intellectual defect usually comes from a moral cause. xm.Christian humility in its relations to worldly affairs. xiv. Injuriesproduced by vanity and pride. xv. Pride. xvi. Vanity. xvn.The influence of pride on business is worse than that of vanity. xvm.Comparison between pride and vanity. xix. How general this passionis. xx. Necessity of a continual struggle. xxi. It is not pridealone which leads to error when we propose to ourselves an end.xxn. Development of latent powers, xxui. On proposing to our-selves an end, we should guard against presumption and excessive want

i of confidence. xxiv. Sloth. xxv. An advantage of sloth over the_^ other passions. xxyi. Origin of sloth. xxvu. Sloth of mind.xxvui. Reasons which confirm what we have said about the origin of

sloth. xxix. Inconstancy. Its nature and origin. xxx. Proofsand applications. xxxi. The just medium between these extremes.xxxii. Morality is the best guide of the practical understanding.xxxni. The harmony of the universe defended by chastisement.xxxiv. Observations on the advantages and disadvantages of virtuein business. xxxv. Defence of virtue against an unjust charge.xxxvi. Defence of learning against an unfounded charge. xxxvir.The passions are good servants but bad counsellors. xxxvin.Hypocrisy of the passions. xxxix. Example. Vengeance under twoforms. xii. Precautions. XLI. Hypocrisy of man with himself.XLII. The knowledge of one's self . XLIII. Man flies from himself.XLIV. "Wisdom of the Christian religion in the direction of conduct.XLV. The moral sentiments aid virtue. XLVI A rule for practicaljudgments. XLVII. Another rule. xi.vin. Man laughing at himself.XLIX. Perpetual childhood of man. L. Change of Mr. Nicacius ina few hours. LI. The sentiments by themselves are a bad rule ofconduct. LTI. Not sensible impressions, but morality and reason.

? LIU. Exaggeration makes a good sentiment bad LIV. Science isuseful to practice. LV. Inconvenience of universality. LVI. Forceof will. LVTI. Firmness of will. LVIII. Firmness, energy, impetu-osity. LIX. Conclusion and resume.

NOTES, 377


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LIFEOF

REV. JAMES BALMES, D.D


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LIFEOF

REV. JAMES BALMES, D.D

SOMETIME about the year 1810, the house No. 58 ofthe street de Cerrajeros, in the town of Vich, in theprovince of Barcelona, Spain, was occupied byJames Balmes, furrier by trade, who was married toTeresa Urpia. Of this marriage was born, on the28th of August of the year indicated, James LucianAnthony Balmes. It is a remarkable coincidencethat Balmes came to the world on the day theChurch celebrates the festival of the great doctor,St. Augustine.His infancy passed, like that of most men, withoutany remarkable incident. He received his earlyeducation in the public school, called of Jesus andMary^ conducted by the Rev. Ramon Bach ; and atseven years of age he studied Latin grammar, rhe-toric, philosophy, and one year's theology in theseminary. " I remember," says Don AntonioSoler, contemporary of young Balmes, " hearing him


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12 Life of Rev. James Balmes } D.D.describe the great pain he used to feel going homethe day he should by chance lose the first place inclass, and how he would even shed tears over it,never resting till he had regained it." He displayedprecocious talent, stimulated by his competitor, DonFrancisco de Asis Bofill, and an ardent desire oflearning and imitating the first boys in the school,above all Bofill. " How do you get up those compo-sitions in prose and verse ?" he used to ask. " I strivehard to overtake and pass you, but I cannot/' Oftenhe cried from disappointment, and went home sadand thoughtful.His paternal grandfather was very fond of literaryexercises, and was always present at examinationsand public theses. His father was gifted with amemory so wonderful that he needed no books tocarry on his business perfectly ; and many extraordi-nary things are told of the prodigious developmentof this faculty in him. Balmes himself was heard tosay in his latter years :


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Life of Rev. James Betimes, D.D. 13affection, which grew deeper and stronger in thecourse of years.

Inflamed with noble emulation, and resolved onembracing the ecclesiastical state, he did not limithimself to the cultivation of the sciences which werethe immediate subject of his studies, but used to fre-quent the Episcopal Library, where he perfected him-self in the language of Tacitus and Virgil and inSpanish, which he had to learn as a foreign language,for Catalan was his native tongue. Here he examinedthe works of all the great men who have left theirimpress on the sands of time, but particularly of St.Thomas Aquinas, "because in them," says Balmeshimself, "are embraced all the sciences, human anddivine, and because without religion there is no virtuenor true wisdom."The Archdeacon of Vich, Don Jose Sala, noticed

young Balmes' indefatigable industry; and findinghim possessed of privileged talents, and to be a youngman of exemplary morals, he gave him an ecclesias-tical benefice, which, however, was not sufficient tosupply him with means to prosecute his studies totheir full extent. His parents were poor ; he wanteda Meccenas ; and as Plutarch found one in Trajan,Boileau in Louis XIV., Fray Louis de Leon in Porto-carrero, so Balmes met one in the Bishop of Vich,Don Pablo de Jesus Corcuera, who gave him a freeplace in the college of St. Charles in the Universityof Cervera.The fame our young scholar had acquired in Vich

preceded him and excited a lively curiosity among the


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14 Life of Rev. James Palmes, D.D.students of Cervera to see their new companion, whoat the age of seventeen was regarded as a prodigy oflearning. The anticipations of all were satisfied, forthe young collegian of St. Charles very soon provedthat fame had told no untruths in his case. His pro-gress was astonishing, and that vast comprehensionwhich he possessed was developed to the amazementof masters and fellow-students. From the accountswe have before us it results that Balmes was reputedfirst among the distinguished students ; that hedefended public conclusions and took an active partin other literary acts, with universal applause ; andthat his decision was sought in the halls and outsidewith confidence. He was regarded with such appre-ciation and respect by his professors, Drs. Barri,Caixal, Xarrie, Ricard, and Gali, that in some of theexaminations they prolonged the questions and argu-ments beyond the fixed time, for the pleasure of hear-ing his clear and brilliant solutions ; and such washis power of intellect that he often publicly defendedthe pro and the contra of disputed points.He made no friends except among his fellow-students, and visited no one but the family of DonGaspar de Eixala, to whom he was recommended,and Dr. P. Barri, a Dominican friar and peripateticphilosopher, whose opinions our young scholar fol-lowed at that time. Absorbed in his contemplationshe sought solitude, and often avoided intercoursewith those who had given him the strongest proofs ofrespect and friendship. This conduct was regardedby some as the offspring of indifference, pride, and


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 15even ingratitude, but he would explain it thus : " Mydear friends, pardon me, I cannot help it ; there aretimes when my only pleasure is to be alone medi-tating. It is not pride, God knows. What can I do rPut my friendship to the test, and you shall seewhether it is sincere/' Appearances deceived. Balmesalways held that modesty should ever be the com-panion of science and virtue. One of his most belovedfellow-students has said to us : " This strangenessarose solely from the love of study, which masteredhim so completely as to make him often forget hisfamily, his friends, and even himself/' We believeso ourselves ; for in Madrid he was communicative,amiable, and attentive to all. Balmes knew the du-ties of a man placed in society, and fulfilled themthoroughly. We speak from personal experience,and we shall be supported by everyone who hadintercourse with him.When studying he leaned over the table, resting hishead on his arms, and one would imagine he wasasleep. As soon as he had read a little, he rolled hishead in his cloak, and thus spent a considerable time,as if lost in thought. When one of his friends onceasked him the cause of such a strange custom, heanswered : " A man should read little, but that littlejbught to be select, and then think a great deal. Ifwe only knew what is written in books, the scienceswould remain stationary; and so we should try toknow more than those who have preceded us. Inthese moments of meditation in the dark, my ideasferment, and my head is converted into a sort of


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1 6 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.cauldron." Another singular custom was observedin the young collegian, which attracted the attentionof his companions and the librarians of Cervera andVich. He never asked for one sole book, but wouldget five or six at a time. His first care was to turnover the leaves, examine the indices, take notes, andthen close his eyes in meditation. We have beenassured by persons who kept a close eye on him andnoted his actions and progress, that at the age oftwenty-two he knew the indices of 10,000 books ; andon one occasion he invited Don Mathias Codony toput his memory to the test. Codony took a volumeof the ' Sum of St. Thomas/ and Balmes recited theindex without hesitation, then the index of the secondvolume of "Don Quixote/' and finally of the " Philo-sophy of Eloquence. " Codony in astonishment threwthe books from him, saying: "James, you are eithera wizard, or God wants to show you to the world asa prodigy of memory."From 1829 to 1833, he had for companion in the Col-lege of St. Charles, Don Xavier M. Moner : they studiedand slept together in the same room. "We were bothof the same age," says Mr. Moner, in the notes hehas given us, " and our dispositions became sympa-thetical very soon after we first met, for I immediatelyrecognized in my companion a frank, innocent, andpeaceful character. In spite of his excessive passionfor study, we had occasionally some fun in our room,jumping over the chairs or dancing about like children,or perhaps playing chess, which he learned from mein the space of eight days, and notwithstanding my


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 17pretty fair knowledge of the game, I was very soonunable to compete with Balmes, and could scarcelyget an odd game from him. Many a time we disputedover the play, and often the end of it would be topitch the board out of the window. I knew French,and Balmes did not, and he undertook to learn itfrom me, making me read a piece every day to acquirethe accent ; but very soon he could give me lessons.At that time Balmes spoke and wrote Latin betterthan Spanish, and I remember that he often made meread the examples quoted in works on eloquence. Incollege he studied only the ' Sum of St. Thomas/and his library was composed of this single book.He also read a great deal in Bossuet's ' UniversalHistory/ We never spoke of politics till the publi-cation of the Royal Statute, which I often heard himdefend, looking on Martinez de la Rosa with admi-ration and respect." " When he was studying scho-lastic theology," adds Don Jose Puigdollers, "he agreedwith his fellow-student Codony to keep up alternatelya daily argument of half an hour. Codony was verystudious, and a worthy competitor of Balmes. Thisextraordinary and violent study cost Codony his life,and Balmes a sickness so serious that he received allthe sacraments."On the gth of June, 1830, he obtained the degree of

S. Th. B. as a reward of special cleverness, and in themiddle of October, 1833, he stood for the chair inCervera, vacated by the promotion of Dr. Jose Caixalto the dignity of canon in Tarragona. " Don JoseRicard," says Dr. Ramon Miguel, "assured me that


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1 8 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.Balmes was by far the first in the literary trial, andthat the chair should have been given him in justice."

It is natural to expect that a young man, dedicatedto theological and serious studies, should not forgethis Christian duties, when he complied so exactlywith the obligations of a student. Firm in his dog-matical convictions and in his religious belief, he wasexemplary in his morals, and he never allowed a badword to be pronounced in his presence, or if pro-nounced, to pass without correction, even in familiarconversation. Besides following the practices of pietyof the college, he dedicated some time to meditationin the morning when rising, and at night after supper.He generally prepared for prayer by reading someparagraphs of the " Imitation of Christ," and he wasvery devout to Our Lady of the Rosary and to St.Lucian. His piety and religious belief were solid,and arose from a profound interior conviction : a soulof his temperament could not live without the breadof meditation.In November of the same year, 1833, Balmes stood

for the dignity of Magistral in the Cathedral of Vich.With reference to this he says in his " Personal Vin-dication :" " Everyone knows what happens in casesof this sort in places of small population. Such eventsexcite great attention, and as some take an interestin one and others in another, there is naturally talkpro and contra, and stories are set afloat, which a manof elevated views despises. I was born in the town ;I was the youngest of those contending, and I conse-quently attracted most attention, and some people


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 19took up my cause with ardour. When the concursusfor this dignity was over, I was ordained, and in thisas in all else I received particular attention from thebishop, on whose advice I returned to the university,where I studied Canon Law, and taught Sacred Scrip-ture in quality of substitute, receiving the degree ofDoctor, which is called in university language, ofpomp." In order to complement Balmes' laconism,we have applied to the person indicated to us as bestacquainted with this part of his life for further infor-mation. This person is Don Antonio Ristol. Hereis what he says :"Balmes was twenty-three years of age when hestood for the dignity of Magistral of Vich, disputingthe prebend with his own master, Dr. James Soler,who a few years previously had given him lectureson the very subjects of the present debate. WhenBalmes returned to the university after the concursus,he was not content with being theologian and canonist,but made a profound study of the best authorities oncivil law. The works of Domat and of Vinio, the lawsof Partida and of Novisima Recopilacion, were for along time his favourite study, and he mastered lawwith as much ease and success as he did theologyand canons. The University of Cervera was to con-fer a degree vipomp, as was usual every year on thefeast of the Holy Mystery. This degree was given tothe most distinguished student, who should prove hissuperiority in the examinations to be held for thepurpose. What happened in the other public con-cursus made him hesitate about presenting himself in


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20 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.the present one, and I remember well how he cameone evening to my house ; we went out for a walk andhe consulted me about whether he should go up forthe prize doctorate.

"'Yes,' I said, 'by all means go up.'" ' And if I be again disappointed ? You see, mydear Anthony, ifthat happened I should be miserable.'

" ' Go up, I tell you, for I have a presentiment theprize is yours.'" 'Your words console me a good deal, but I wouldlike to consult our beloved companion, Don JoseFerrer.'" We immediately wrent to look for him, and as hisopinion agreed with mine, we were able to overcomethe hesitation of Balmes. He was so felicitous in thiscontest, and so brilliant, that, notwithstanding thegreat number of competitors, he came off victorious.He had eight days to compose the usual discourse,and I remember that in two days he was prepared topronounce the brilliant production which astonishedus all."

It is a pity that this oration, a model in its kindfor the novelty of the thoughts it contained and itselegance of style, should be known only by the refe-rence its author makes to it in his " Vindication," andthe recollection of those who heard him deliver it.We understand that Balmes spoke in it of reforms ineducation, of the creation of Institutes and ModelSchools, of the necessity of generalising the study ofmathematics ; and touched incidentally on othermatters which revealed his progress, his vast capacity,


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 21and his desire to see introduced into Spain the trueprinciples of modern civilisation. He constantlyrefused (we know not from what motive) to show thisremarkable document even to his most intimatefriends. When Government at different times reformedthe plan of studies, Balmes was heard to say: " Someof these improvements I had foreseen in my doctoraldiscourse. Who should imagine that the ideas of apoor student, uttered in a corner of Catalonia, wouldcoincide with those of the great men of State ?"Nor have we been able to examine the discoursesof the concursus for the prebend of Magistral, and weonly know, from what we heard in Vich, that Balmesin the first exercise treated of the equality of the Sonof God with the Father as regards the divine nature,and in the second he delivered a sermon of an hour'sduration, partly in form of a homily, and partly of amoral exhortation, on the first verse of the xiv. chap,of the Gospel of St. Mark, describing magnificentlyenvy and its results."At the end of the course of 1834-5," says the "Vin-dication," " I went home and did not wish to return tothe university; the war and the revolution weregrowing hotter; and I preferred the obscurity ofdomestic life to the activity of the University." But" Balmes was too big for Vich," one of his companionshas said to us. "The bird wanted to leave the nestand fly," adds our respected friend, Dr. Soler. Hewanted to visit the celebrated Barcelona, and to derivesome fruit from his long studies and privations. Hisposition must not have been at all flattering, when


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22 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.with the object of improving it he wrote the followingimportant and significant letter to his beloved com-panion, Don Antonio Ristol :

"Vich, rtthjtdy, 1836."DEAR FRIEND As the time is approaching when a determination

must be come to regarding the whereabouts of the university, Ishall esteem it a favour if you visit Dr. Quintana, and after salutinghim in my name, ask him the news about it, and also the proba-bilities of my obtaining a situation in it, whether it remain at Cervera orbe translated to Barcelona. You may add that I would have written tohim direct if I had known his address, and that I shall do so as soon as Ido know it. After hearing his answers you will be able to form a closecalculation of the probabilities of a good or bad issue, and you will be goodenough to inform me of all that occurs. But, my dear friend, the subjectdoes not end here. I have an idea of going to Barcelona, even though Ido not obtain a situation in the university, and if possible before the classesopen ; and not by the way of excursion, but to spend a long time there.I will tell you why : you know I am here without any employment ; I givea few lessons, but here the retribution is so small that it is not worthwhile. I was waiting for the war to end before doing something, but thewar does not end. What can I do here like a caged bird ? What I do isto endure affliction and consume myself to the danger of my health. Butperhaps you will say, what will you do in Barcelona ? Well, you knowmy instruction, though limited, has the advantage of being a little varied.Perhaps for the present I might take charge of the education of some youngman ; perhaps I might give lessons ; in the meantime I should earn my living,make acquaintances, be at hand to see what occurs in the university, andlikely some path would open up to me. I think it would not be so difficult tofind in Barcelona the employment I have mentioned : and as the retributionis there much higher than here, I could easily earn as much as would keepme decently. You who live there, and have a number of acquaintances,and who profess for me an affection not only lively but ardent, may soundthe matter, form an opinion, and let me know what you think of my planas soon as possible. My dear friend, what pleasure I shall have if you cangive me a favourable answer ! We should talk together, and walk together,and if possible live together ; and even though we lived apart, we shouldcome together every idle moment, and we would talk a thousand and one


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 23times about your plan of studies, and we would spend such pleasant hoursalone that we should never miss the thronged streets or the public diver-sions. Good-bye, my dear friend ; I am compelled to order my pen tostop, for it runs so quick that one would think it wanted to leave nothingfor another post You are now thoroughly acquainted with my plans ; youknow me, besides, intimately ; you know what I should like and you knowwhat I could do, you who have so often examined my head and my heart.As to tact in the business, and a prudent reserve that my plans may notbe published, I confide in your discretion, activity, and warm affection.

"At your commands," JAMES BALMES."Ristol, a young man of clear talent, who knew per-

fectly the character and qualities of Balmes, whoentertained an ardent affection for him, and who couldspeak to him with all the effusion of friendship, accusedhim of being over-timid and modest. " I do not ap-prove of your idea," he answered. " You have beenborn for greater things not for a pedagogue. Followfor the present the university career, and we shallafterwards see what course we should steer. As faras my capacity to serve you goes, I leave it at yourdisposal; not, however, to become a teacher of children,but a professor. It is natural at your age and in yourcircumstances to desire to improve your position : becalm, and we shall succeed. For the present confineyourself to writing to Dr. Quintana, who is preju-diced in your favour, and I shall do whatever else isto be done. You should be a professor or a publicwriter."Balmes answered him in the following terms :

" Vich, ztyk August, 1836."MY DEAR RISTOT, From your favour I see you perfectly com-prehendfed the spirit of my letter; that is, that I desired to improve


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24 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.my situation, and see if I could better my fortune, but without loweringin the slightest degree the dignity of my character, or sacrificing to self-interest the inclinations of a disposition ever anxious to keep well withinthe bounds of decorum. Following your advice I have written to Dr.Quintana ; we shall see what the result will be. You must have seen thenew plan of studies: it contains many innovations ; but, considering presentcircumstances, I don't believe that the half of it is workable. From thisplan it may be deduced that literary establishments will continue as theywere, with some slight modifications, so that it is probable the universitywill hold its ground in Cervera or Barcelona, the same as before. If I benot greatly mistaken, it will be easier for me to get into the universityaccording to the new plan ; and adding to this the pleasing news you gaveme about Dr. Quintana, I think I may entertain some hopes. My dearfriend, I have no doubt it is owing to you that Dr. Quintana has formed afavourable opinion of me. In the university there are scarcely any pro-fessors; much will lie in the Rector's hands; and I trust that you who havedone so much already will be able to bring the business to a favourableconclusion. The time of the opening of the classes is approaching ; Ithink Dr. Quintana must have received some communications from Govern-ment relative to the university ; I believe that considering the peculiarcircumstances of Cervera, they must have consulted him about variousthings ; consequently, as you know well, whatever occasions turn up shouldbe taken advantage of; for if they are allowed to pass, they often disappearnever to return. Good-bye, my dear friend.

"I remain yours affectionately," JAMES BALMES.

These letters reveal Balmes 5 situation in 1836. Itwas a situation not at all desirable, and would havebeen sufficient to make a less finely tempered soulthrow his books from him, and regard the studies soeagerly entered on, and so perseveringly prosecuted,as a melancholy deceit. At the age of 26 years, theage of illusions and desires, caged like a bird in Vich,when he hoped to be gathering the fruit of his labours ;when he awaited the coming of the moment he


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 25could say to his aged parents : " Now your son, byhis toil, is able to make your old days comfortable ;"when he saw himself reduced to giving lessons for aretribution so small, that it was not worth while, and toimplore the favour of a friend to better his sitttationand fortune ; when, finally, he might have regardedhimself as destined to suffer all the rigours of an inex-orable fate, without a future, without recompense, andeven without emulation. . . . Balmes, the author alittle after of " Protestantism Compared," &c., and ofthe " Fundamental Philosophy," was undergoing asevere trial, and was giving a brilliant example. Ifthere was at the time no place for him in the univer-sities of Spain, though he thought it easy according tothe new plan, in scarce eight years after he exerciseda universal professorship, and all the literary estab-lishments of the world would have disputed the glo-rious distinction of reckoning among their professorsthe young priest of Vich.He had, however, two sources of consolation in hismisfortune religion and his books. " He attended thedevotions/' (says Senor Puigdollers) "in the churchof the Dominicans, being ever noted for a great depthof resignation and delicacy of conscience. Even whena student, if he chanced to get any money he used totake it to the church De la Piedad, to have Massessaid for his intention." Given to biographical andhistorical studies, he derived comfort from the consi-deration of the ingratitude, perfidy, and crosses, somany men eminent in virtue and letters experienced.Thus he rose superior to his circumstances, and was3


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26 Life ofRev. James Palmes, D.D.able to pursue his literary labours with unyieldingfirmness. Comprehending, like Mariana, Sarmiento,and Perez Bayer, the high dignity of the priesthood,he fulfilled the duties of his ministry in the tabernacleof the Lord and in the retirement of his study. " Godbefore all, and above all," he used to say. "Whatis science without religion r what is learning withoutthe fear of God ?" Many of his friends told us in Vich,and Senor Soler mentions it in his " Biography,"" That besides the celebration of Mass, he used to goto those churches where there would be no great con-course, to pray before the Adorable Sacrament, andthe statues of the Blessed Virgin. Though at certainperiods dispensed from the Divine Office and fromfasting, he never availed himself of this privilege, andwhen travelling he read his Office in the coach, andoften broke his journey for no other purpose than tohear or say Mass." The same " Biography" adds," that Balmes never exercised the ecclesiastical mi-nistry in its immediate intercourse with the faithful ;"which is perfectly true. " I get convulsions/' he usedto say, in horror, " at the sole idea of sitting down ina confessional to hear the sins of my neighbour.Only through obedience or in a case of urgent ne-cessity could I bring myself to do it." The SenoresMartinez and Taulo have assured us "that a no-table personage residing in Barcelona entreated himto hear his confession, signifying, at the same time,with great prudence and politeness, that he should bewell recompensed. Balmes, though poor at the time(1840), rejected the pretensions of the polite penitent."


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 27

But if he felt repugnance for the duties of the confes-sional, those of the pulpit were very agreeable to him,and he deeply regretted that his weak voice would notpermit him to exercise the ministry of preaching morefrequently. He delivered only six or seven sermons,the most remarkable being one on " Jesus Christ cru-cified," and the funeral oration of the academiciansof the Cingulo.During this period, which Balmes called his time of

rest, he dedicated himself to the profound study ofvarious sciences, which he only knew elementally.Destitute of means and of patronage, which mightauthorize and encourage him to look for a chair insome of the universities with a hope of obtaining it,for true merit is not always successful in such cases ;the filling up of ecclesiastical benefices being, at thetime, suspended by order of Government; all thecareers blocked up on which young men of applica-tion and talent might enter ; the voice of learningdrowned by the din of war ; Spain converted intoa vast camp, in which one-half of her unfortunatechildren struggled with the other half: Balmes con-templated in amazement that immense horizon filledwith calamities ; that heartrending picture, more bloodyin Vich, perhaps, than elsewhere, as it was the capitalof the mountains, and the centre of the civil war ; a"ndhe saw the brilliant perspective fade away, which butfour years before was the object of his illusions andhis hopes. But did the mind of our young priest yieldunder the weight of so many misfortunes ? Did heabandon his instincts and his resolutions ? Did he


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28 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.close up his books, throw away his pen, and forsakethe episcopal library ? No. "He surmounted all ob-stacles, he conquered all opposition, and one wouldthink the difficulties only increased his heroic valour,and were shattered against that iron will. Unfortu-nate political, local, and domestic circumstanceswhat elements these to make a man learned and eru-dite ! I remember having heard him say, < that hethought every great man should aim at some object,and tenaciously try to reach it, though he had tostruggle on for fifty years, without hesitating beforeany obstacle or unfounded censure/ Such was hisinflexible will, undoubtedly the secret of his greatlearning." This is said by a fellow-student and friendof Balmes, " who had the happiness of taking a dailywalk with him for five or six years."We have said that Balmes was already, at the periodwe have reached, a great philosopher, a consummatetheologian, and an eminent jurist. He was scarcelytwenty-seven years of age, and he now dedicated him-self to several auxiliary sciences. Blair's t( Lectures"and Capmany's " Philosophy of Eloquence," inspiredhim with the desire ofcultivating "Belles-Lettres," andhe dived into the Greek, Latin, and Spanish classics,from Homer to Anacreon, from Virgil to Tibulus, fromJohn of Mena to Cervantes. He perfected himself inSpanish, " which," he says himself, " we who have thefortune or misfortune to be born in Catalonia, mustlearn, as we do Latin, English, or French." Given tohistory, he wandered over its immense fields with theBible as his compass. Law, chronology, geography,


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 29almost all the branches of human learning becamefamiliar to him, as is proved by those profound writ-ings of his, which, for the glory and pride of Spain,and the instruction and admiration of the world, he hasbequeathed to posterity. He needed no masters now."I make trial in myself," he said, "of what talent,memory and perseverance can do." But these trialswere colossal, as is proved by the fact that he learnedmathematics without receiving lessons from anyone,and in eight months was superior to the most famousprofessors of Catalonia.The revolution growled in all directions ; the torchof civil war was burning. Spain, unhappy Spain, waspassing through one of those great crises, through oneof those periods of tribulation, which the hand of Godsends to purify or chastise nations. Balmes, from themountains of Vich, followed the course of events ; and,with "a map before him" (Soler, page 10), " with thenewspapers in one hand and a compass in the other,he calculated distances, the marches of the contend-ing armies, the probability of events, so exactly, as toastonish everyone ; and not rarely did we see his pre-dictions realised in the issue/' " Balmes had so keenan eye in politics," adds Ristol, " that, in 1836, when,talking of the civil war, I asked him if he thought itwould soon end, he answered ; ' I think that we areabout half way through it, and that Isabel II. will tri-umph/ He had studied the war so closely in itsorigin, course, and vicissitudes that he often told meit would give him no trouble to relate all the actionsand feats of arms which occurred in it, mentioning


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3O Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.the places where they happened, and who had beenvictorious and who defeated. He had the singularprivilege of remembering everything he read ; and Irecollect that on one occasion I wanted to quote, in acertain writing, a despatch of General Espartero, andhe at once told me, though some years had passed, thedate of the newspaper in which it was published, and,moreover, recited it word for word."Competently authorised to read prohibited works,he laid the foundation of those victorious refutations,

which afterwards earned for him so much fame by theirgeometrical method of handling the subject, and theircopious learning, vast erudition, irresistible force ofreasoning, and the facility of style and peculiar cha-racteristics which distinguished all his publications." I confess," he said, to some of his friends, " that pro-hibited books should be read only through necessity.You know how deeply grounded in my heart religioussentiments and belief are ; and yet before and afterreading a prohibited work, I must have recourse tothe Bible, to Kempis, or Fray Louis de Granada.What will happen inexpert and fickle youth withoutthis preservative ? Such an idea horrifies me ; deeplyhave we to bewail the effect in the depravation ofpublic morals."" He was inexorably opposed to idle pleasures, andwonderfully attached to solitude, meditation, and con-tinence/' says Soler. " He sometimes played chesswith consummate ability, and took a daily walk."We must admit that only an inflexible will, an as-tonishing perseverance, and a profound love of letters


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 31could counteract the influence of the unfortunate cir-cumstances with which he was surrounded, and theinclinations of youth, to such a degree as to makeBalmes content with an odd game of chess and ashort walk in the environs of Vich. In these walkshe was usually accompanied, at the time we havereached, by Senores Soler (James and Anthony), Alier,Galadies, Puigdollers, and other friends, and there wasmuch to be learned in them ; they might be called realconferences; they were otia scientifica. Apropos, andin proof of what we said above, that Balmes aimedat and tried to reach, objects, though they were fiftyyears distant, we may relate the following anec-dote :Walking one evening with his friends, Balmes in-

terrupted an agreeable conversation, by suddenly ask-ing the Rev. Mr. Alier :" Don Pedro, have you ever thought what the worldmay be like 4,000 years hence r"

"Dr. James," Alier answered in astonishment, "youare joking. Such an idea never occurred to me. Howwould you have me, who never think what may happento-morrow, take 40 centuries into calculation ? Let uscontinue our conversation, and leave all that to God."Balmes smiled : Canon Soler was silent.

*' You smile," said Alier to the former. " Well,now, I put the same question to you. Have you evermeditated on the answer ?"

" I rather think I have, and deeply."" All right, then ; what will the world be 4,000years hence ?"


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32 L ifI of Rev. Jamvs Balmes, D.D." I will not tell you at present, my dear friend ; I

have it well thought out, and perhaps some day 1 maymake it known."From the turn he gave the conversation and a few

expressions dropped by Balmes, his friends learnedthat he founded his opinion on the gth and rothverses of the ist chap, of Ecclesiastes : " What is itthat hath been ? the same that shall be. What is itthat hath been done ? the same that shall be done.Nothing under the sun is new, neither is any manable to say : Behold this is new ; for it hath alreadygone before, in the ages that were before us/'At this time Balmes conceived an idea so bold that

it could only be inspired by his indomitable perseve-rance and the desire to see "how far talent andapplication could reach/' We allude to the study ofmathematics, of that profound science which enlargesthe mind, rectifies the ideas, and sharpens the reason-ing powers, but which was, at the period we speak of,sadly neglected in the schools. Knowing that a vacantchair was about to be filled in a literary establishmentin Vich, he determined to contest it, against the adviceof his friends, who qualified his resolution as impru-dent and rash. " You shall see," he said ; " I hope,with the favour of God, to be soon capable of actingas professor of mathematics, though the idea nowappears to you absurd." He went straight to DonManuel Galadies, a studious young man distinguishedin the exact sciences. When Galadies heard the de-cision of Balmes, he explained to him the great diffi-culties before him. "Time will tell," he answered-


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 33" Lend me a Vallejo, and as I progress I trust youwill kindly supply me with the books I may want."Eight months after Balmes was a consummate ma-

thematician, and the day of the opening of the estab-lishment he gave a lecture which astonished hishearers and won for him the appointment.What shall we say of the discharge of the duties ofhis new position ? We will let one of his pupils speakfor us : " He knew the exact sciences perfectly, andhad learned them without assistance. I often heardhim say that he never wearied at sight of a difficultyor the impossibility of solving a problem ; though heshould have to give it up ten times, still he would re-turn to it. And so deeply did he penetrate the subjectthat he taught not only its more sublime parts, butwrote inestimable treatises on it, particularly on trigo-nometry. Whoever has not heard Dr. Balmes inclass, knows not what order is, nor punctuality, norassiduity in both professor and students, nor atten-tion, nor the clearness of an able teacher, nor the carewith which a learned man's words are gathered, northe prudence with which the master forms the under-standing and heart of youth. I heard him teach ma-thematics, a matter of itself so fine and delicate : wewere a number of young men pretty well advancedin other subjects, and his lectures enchanted us, whilehis enjoyment was not less than ours. And it was notmathematics alone he taught us, but logic, meta-physics, history in a word, he taught us how tostudy and be men."We have thought it right to illustrate with the fore-


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34 Life of Rev. James Balmes> D.D.going details a period of Balmes' life which appearsfabulous, and of which he himself gives but a slightidea in his " Vindication : "


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Life of Rev. James Balmest D.D. 35versal mastery with which, at the age of thirty years,he treats all kinds of subjects, answers all sorts ofobjec-tions, and surmounts all classes of obstacles. Inpolitics and diplomacy he is up to the level of thehighest talents of the age ; he cleverly decides thedeepest questions of State ; he paints the men of to-day and historical personages with correct and cha-racteristic touches ; he dives into the chaos of modernpolitics, and with the clue of thought comes out againas if its paths were quite familiar to him ; he compre-hends and takes in the whole march of humanity withits dangers and tempests, with its breakers and ship-wrecks. He possesses the secret of convincing, andeven of making converts in politics a thing ratherdifficult in these days of inflexible individual prideand of blind and ill-dissembled presumption."We arrive now at the year 1839, and Balmes is awalking encyclopaedia. He was behind only in thestudy of the art of curing ; but his friendship with Dr.Clement Campa, a distinguished professor of medicine,afforded him the opportunity of dedicating himself tothis science, " in which he acquired no common know-ledge," says Campa. "Having undertaken the studyof phrenology, too, he asked me for some book whichdescribed the brain. I gave him the 4th vol. of the" Diccionaire des Sciences Medicates" which, in thearticle "Cerveau" written by Gall and Spurzheim,describes in detail the anatomy and physiology ofthis organ. In eight or ten days he returned me thebook, and, when I expressed my astonishment that heshould have got through the article in so short a time,


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36 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.though it contained only 33 pages French octavo, inclose and compact type, but still dealt with a matternaturally difficult, he answered, * that he had also readwith pleasure the article f Cas Rares?' which containsnothing less than 126 pages, and, besides, looked overthe rest of the book. So much learning at such an ageis undoubtedly a mystery, and one wonders how hecould have found time to collect it."He alternated his labours between serious andpleasant studies, and rested from positive work byindulging in the enchantments of poetry. It is truehe did not shine in this branch of literature. Balmespossessed the artificial part ; he supplied with studythe natural gifts he did not boast of, but he could notcompete with Quintana as a poet, as he could not rivalOrfila as a doctor. Who is consummate master of allthe leading and accessory sciences at the age of 29years r "t Saber," "El Reo de Miierte? " Cien SiglosDespues" and other poetical compositions of his whichwere published, were distinguished for their sublimityof thought and closeness of comparison. "El Saber"gained him so much applause "that it made hischeeks blush," as he wrote to his friend Moner. Hesoon abandoned rhyme ; for, accustomed as he was tomaster understandings in the higher social and po-litical questions, whenever the littleness of individualsor party left a fair field to reason ; to take a part in allscientific and literary contests ; to conquer in many,and to occupy a high place in the world of the learned*he must have felt that he was not born a poet, and thatit was unbecoming so superior a man to be content


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 37with a vulgar mediocrity. We may also presume thathis after serious labours hindered him from cultivatingpoetical studies, whose first essays gained for him somuch applause.The name of the young Catalan priest was nowknown ; his poetry ushered him into the literaryworld ; these light productions were like rockets, Mr.Soler says ; " they were an indication that the birdhad left the nest and had begun to fly," we add,bringing to mind .the phrase of the venerable magis-tral of Vich. And so it was. Encouraged by hisfriends, and flattered by the reception his first pro-ductions had met with, he answered the invitation ofthe newspaper called the Madrileno Catoh'co, whichhad proposed the following theme for public compe-tition : " Is the celibacy of the Catholic clergy (pre-scinding from canonical and civil law) more favour-able, politically, morally, and religiously speaking,to the good of society than the permission to contractmarriage existing among Protestants ?"This was the proposition on which those whoaspired to the prize should write, and the triumphwas reserved for Balmes. After a short introductionhe enters boldly on the subject, and with philosophicalarguments and palpable examples demonstrates thereligious and moral advantages of the celibacy of theCatholic clergy compared with the permission tomarry enjoyed by Protestants. To this article Balmesrefers in the following letter addressed to Don AntonioRistol, who wrote to him announcing his journey toMadrid :


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38 Life of Rev. James Balmes^ D.D." Vich, \yh ofSeptember, 1839.

"MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, It may be that I shall soon have somebusiness of importance in the capital, and in that case I shallnot fail to avail myself of your kind offer ; but for the present I onlywant you to pay a visit in my name to the Rev. Inocencio M. RiescoLe Grand, editor of the newspaper which was lately published in Madridunder the name of Madrileno Catolico. Through an article I sent him inthe competition on ecclesiastical celibacy, I have entered on some corres-pondence with that gentleman, and he has offered me the post of corres-pondent to the Biblico-Catholic Society about to be founded in Madridunder his auspices. He tells .me in his last letter that I shall receive properinstructions for the purpose ; and as their tenor may occasion some inci-dents, it will always be useful and satisfactory to me to have in Madrid afriend like you, in whose experience and discretion I shall have full confi-dence, and in whose affection I shall find a guarantee of sincerity and zeal.I am far advanced in an extensive work analagous to the object the societyhas in view. According to the course of events I may try to publish it inMadrid, although I have entertained the idea of doing so in Barcelona.Perhaps when viewed closely the latter may offer greater advantages,perhaps greater drawbacks. In the meantime, a happy journey." I remain your affectionate friend," JAMES BALMES."The congratulations of his friends, the favourablecriticisms of the Press, and the flattering review of his

article written in the Religion by Senor Rocay Cornet,encouraged Balmes to undertake another labour morearduous, more transcendent and intimately connectedwith the questions which were then agitating thebosom of our disturbed society. We allude to thelittle work " Social, Political, and Economical Obser-vations on the Property of the clergy." "It waspublished in Vich," says Balmes in his " Vindication,""and in spite of the obscurity of the place of issueand of the author, it was spoken favourably of by theMadrid papers of all shades, including the Gazette.


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Life of Rev. James Palmes, D.D. 39In the MadridReview there was also a flattering noticeof it, the initials to which they told me were those ofSenor Pidal, at present Minister of the Interior. I donot know whether that be true or not : I relate whatI then heard."Among the various questions which at that time

engaged the attention of the Press and the Cortes,that of the property of the clergy and Church held aforemost place. Balmes, a priest, and Catholic, andjurist, believed he should fail in his duty if he remainedsilent when the rights of the clergy were threatened,andhecame outwith those "Observations,"remarkablefor their novelty of thought, force of reasoning, exact-ness of conclusion, and precision in examples. It wasnatural that a new and humble writer should distrusthis own work ; but he consulted the matter with hislearned friend and former master, Rev. James Soler,who was astonished at the production, and urged himto publish it immediately. On the ist of February,1840, Balmes wrote to Ristol : "Think well over mywriting, and when I see you or you write you willgive me your opinion. I don't know whether it willplease the public : what I can tell you is that the view Itake of that property is somewhat original, and I thinkmy little work is not at all like any previous productionon the subject. It is all relative to civilisation."On the 3rd of May, 1 840, Balmes wrote the followingletter to his friend Ristol, who was in Madrid :"MY DEAR FRIEND, A parcel of 200 copies ofmy ' Observations ' may

reach Madrid any day : they are addressed to the stationer, Don EusebioAguado. Perhaps you would not think it too troublesome to have it


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40 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.announced in some paper, either religious or political. Precisely nowwhen the question is about being ventilated in the Cortes, the occasionshould be opportune. I earnestly entreat you as a friend to let me knowwhat opinion may be formed of my writings by those who are able tojudge. Speak to me as a friend, and don't deceive me, for deception insuch a case would be a sort of treason. How you must amuse yourself inthe capital ! I am sorry we cannot take a few turns together, and have along talk about everything that might crop up. But I have one consolation,and it is the thought that on your return you shall find me in Barcelona.You are not unaware of the motives which induce to this step, for youyourself often prognosticated and advised in the same direction. Whenyou were here in Vich you remember we had such a long chat ; I wish wecould have a longer one now, for somehow or other there is something inyou which steals me away, and the hours glide in your company as if therewere no such thing as time. What a long spell we have had tocontent ourselves with wishes, for our position and circumstances keptus so much apart that we could seldom meet ! You may tell me we can fallback on letters ; but what can one say in a letter ? You see, for instance,that this is not a very short one, and yet I have not said the hundredthpart of what I wanted to say. Patience. If any paper notice my poorwriting, whether to criticise it favourably or unfavourably, I shall esteem itas a favour if you will let me know of it, and if it be anything remarkablesend me a copy. Adieu, my dear friend." Yours as ever,

"JAMES BALMES."Ristol, of course, did all his friend asked him, as may

be seen from the following answer :"I have seen Senor Martinez de la Rosa, and I have given him your

treatise to read and form an opinion on. The matter attracted his attentionas being connected with questions which precisely at the present time arebeing discussed in Parliament. I go to the sessions every day, and youcannot imagine the emotion I felt yesterday when I saw Martinez de laRosa in the anteroom of the Cortes surrounded by the Duke de Gor,Toreno, Pidal, and other distinguished deputies, reading and enthusiasti-cally praising your writing. Our friend Perpina, who will also write to youto-day or to-morrow, told me that Martinez de la Rosa when asked whathe thought of your pamphlet, said : 'Magnificent ! I am very much pleasedwith it ; there could be nothing better : there are a novelty of ideas and a


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 41certain delicious smack in it. But I observe an occasional after-flavour andhere and there the intercalation of an a, and some other little things, whichcome, I suppose, from the author being a Catalan. I have given it to readto the Duke de Gor with a special recommendation. The young writer isa worthy ecclesiastic, and we must make him known. It has also extremelypleased the Minister of Grace and Justice, but he also finds the after-flavourand the employment of some improper verbs, and above all the a, whichsounds so bad. Others also have pointed out the same defect.' As youcharged me (and even though you had not, you know my hatred of flattery)to be frank and tell you the pure, unvarnished truth, because, as you say,deceit in such a matter would be a soit of treason, I have complied withyour wishes, and I think you will not complain of my want of sincerity. Igive you my warmest congratulations, and I congratulate myself also, foryou will remember that long ago I told you you should be a public writer."

The Madrid papers and the Religion of Barcelona.gave great praise to the author of the " Observations,"and encouraged him to continue studying and writingwhile enjoying the cooings of his rising fame. Balmes'financial state he speaks of it thus in one of hisletters was now prosperous, for in addition to hissalary as professor,

the small income of his ecclesi-astical benefice, and the emoluments derived fromprivate tuition, he had the proceeds of his " Obser-vations. " He felt happy, and revolved in his ardentimagination the idea of his " Protestantism comparedwith Catholicity," " sleeping," as he said, u eating,teaching, and walking with this thought. It was mygolden dream, my illusion, my hope in this world."He wrote another little work in 1 840, which we shallspeak of further on, and a translation of the "Maximsof St. Francis of Sales distributed over the days of theyear." Canon Soler tells us the origin of this trans-lation in the following words :4


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42 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D." In the year 1 840, I asked a favour of Dr. Balmes,

which was immediately granted. I wanted to havethe maxims taken from the works of St. Francis deSales translated into our tongue for the good of souls.I gave him the French copy, and at the end of a fewdays he returned it translated, but would not have itpublished till we both should compare it with theoriginal. With regard to the maxim for the 25th ofJanuary, which runs : Ourfear with respect to thejudg-ments of God should be graduated so as not to admit ofpresumption, nor dishearten us, he was a good whilerounding it to make it express the saint's full thoughtwithout disfiguring it, and he would not write it outfinally for the press till I should give my opinion.This proves that my dear friend and pupil had greatdeference for others and was really humble."The "Maxims" had a short prologue by the Spanishtranslator, who eulogises the special gift of St. Francisde Sales of knowing the secrets of the heart of man," whose faults he points out without neglecting any,without forgetting any, but yet without offending himor lowering him, harmonising the austerity of moralitywith the most enchanting sweetness. He strews therough road to heaven with the flowers of divine love,and sweetly carries souls by the path of perfection,enchanted by the angelic words of that man whosebreast was filled with the Spirit of God, whose lipsdistilled the unction of Mary's Son. Nothing appearsrough to him, nothing difficult, everything level andpracticable. Who has not occasionally enjoyed theperusal of his delicious writings? Who has not


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Life of Rev. James Balmes , D.D. 43

sought in them consolation in misfortune, strength intemptation, peace in uneasiness, light in his darkness ?''Soon after Balmes wrote his " Political Considera-tions/' in which he condemns the revolutionary ex-cesses, and which he had the courage to publish inBarcelona in the heat of the political disturbances inwhich that town was at the time involved. He wasalso far advanced with his " Protestantism comparedwith Catholicity," whose labours he interrupted forfifteen days to compose his " Religion demonstratedto the capacity of Children." "My intention," he says," is not to write a Catechism of the Christian Doctrine,nor a Compendium of Religion : I have simply endea-voured to fill up a void which existed in the instructionof children."The teaching of mathematics and the retirement of

Vich did not now satisfy the inclinations of Balmes.His visit to Barcelona, the sight of its temples, itslibraries, its academies, and its industrial establish-ments ; intercourse with the most distinguished menof that town, the incentive of glory, his growingcelebrity; the advice of his friends, the eye of thepublic, the words " that is Balmes," which he heardwhispered after celebrating Mass, when walking onthe street, when visiting a library, awakened thosenatural and irresistible, but worthy and noble, instincts,which elevate a man above his fellows. Emulation,not envy; prudence, not pride; the sublime sentimentsof the real philosopher, not puerile dreams ; inspiredBalmes. At this time he received the distinguishedhonour of being elected member of the Academy of


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44 Life of Rev. James Balmes > D.D.Barcelona, on the motion of his friend, Roca y Cornet,to whom he wrote the following letter on the loth ofMarch, 1 84 1 :"MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, I have been considerably surprised at the

satisfactory news you give me, not because I had any doubt of your friend-ship for me, but simply because I could scarcely hope that so respectable anAcademy would carry its indulgence so far. I give you my warmest thanks,and I hope that while the diploma is being prepared, you will communicatethe expression of my acknowledgment to the gentlemen who voted myadmission. . . ."

His creative and original talent inspired the disser-tation he subsequently remitted to the Academy. Thesubject is really worthy of the author, and character-istic of him, whilst it reveals the gift with which hewas endowed it is Originality. The academy re-ceived this singular and brilliant production withgreat pleasure, and regarded it as a prelude of theglory of its new member.He had now finished his work on Protestantism andwas anxious to publish it, but was in perplexitywhether it would be better to do so in Madrid orBarcelona. Some of his friends advised him to go toMadrid with it, and he consulted Ristol on the sub-ject, who told him to publish it in Barcelona, wherethe expenses would be much more moderate than inMadrid. Balmes followed this advice, and on theevening of the 8th of July, 1841, the author arrived inthe capital of Catalonia, with the intention of fixinghis residence there. The caged bird was at last free.Our readers will remember that Don Joachim Roca yCornet was the editor of a Review, called the Religion,in Barcelona. Balmes and Don Jose Ferrer, attorney


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 45and professor in the university, a young man of greattalent and worthy competitor of Balmes in certainthings, conceived the idea of founding a new Review,which, embracing in its extensive range religion andsociety, should also comprehend politics and all theelements of civilisation. Roca y Cornet, yielding tothe repeated invitations of Balmes and Ferrer, had thegenerosity to divide with them his glory and fortune.The Religion ceased and the Civilisation began to bepublished. It was a fortnightly paper which won theapplause of all political parties, and gained for itseditors, Balmes, Roca, and Ferrer, great renown anduniversal praise. It continued to appear up to 1843,when Balmes seceded from the editorship and foundeda new Review of his own called the Society. In proofof the high estimation in which the Civilisation washeld among the learned abroad, we will quote a pre-cious and little known testimony, which particularlyenhances the literary glory of Balmes. M. A. Blanche,in the second part of an article on the Religious Pressof Spain, inserted in the Catholic University of Parisin 1843, says:" Owing to the will ofDivine Providence, as usuallyhappens in such cases, anarchy was unable to seize onthis part of Spain (Catalonia), without awakening atthe same time the valour of a generous resistance.More than six years ago the very idea which createdamong us the Catholic University, the Annals ofChristian Philosophy, and other organs of sound phi-losophy, and pure literature, brought into existencein Barcelona an inestimable collection invariably


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46 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.directed to the same object. We have alreadymade this highly deserving work known in ourpages. After a career of five years the editor ofthe Religion (such was the title of the BarcelonaReview), Don J Roca y Cornet, feeling himself im-pelled to bolder combats, associated himself with twoor three Catholic warriors. Uniting in a common ideathe talents of his two fellow-labourers, one of whomwas professor of Law, Don Jose Ferrer, and the othera priest, Don Jaime Balmes, author of well-knownworks, he gave new and vast proportions to his peri-odical issue. The field of politics was open to him,and he selected a title analagous to the idea of themasses ; Religion changed itsname into Civilisation, andthe new paper appeared twice a month, thus doublingthe number of publications and increasing its size." The Civilisation has been one of the most interest-ing collections, not only of the religious, but of thewhole, Press of Spain. Written with well-sustainedvigour, it was the echo of the most sound and gene-rous foreign opinion, and the energetic director of anation tending to monstrous errors. There circulatedthrough its pages a sap of hope and success not usuallyfound in religious publications. Among other articleswe remember a very remarkable one on the results ofthe sale of ecclesiastical property. Its author is pre-cisely the same Balmes who had inaugurated hiscareer of publicist with the " Social, Political, andEconomical Observations on the Property of theClergy." To demonstrate with facts and figures howim-prudent and mad had been the revolutionary measure,


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 47was a vast and interesting labour. Never wastalent employed with greater success than when heengages on the elucidation of these theorems, basedon 'one side on the eternal principles of justice, andon the other on the public anxiety and tribulations.In a long article on O'Connell the same writer employsvivid colours to paint the hero of oratorical warfare.Strong sympathies draw all the Catholic nations ofEurope towards this athlete of religious liberty.Spain, whose strong faith is mingled with her history,could not remain indifferent in presence of the eman-cipation of Ireland. In other times, when free fromthat prolonged calamity which now oppresses her, agenerous heart impelled her to succour this victim ofProtestantism. The sword is now sheathed when amember of the Church is to be protected ; Providencewills that the victory be obtained by patience andprayer; but, notwithstanding, there exists in the Catho-lic world, and especially in Spain, an ardent andunanimous desire for the complete religious emanci-pation of Ireland. The Civilisation responds to thisdesire by portraying O'Connell's struggle," &c. &c.Having given the last revision to his " Protestant-

ism," he intrusted its publication to Don Jose Taulo.His multiplied labours and his change of domicileobliged him to give up his chair of mathematics, whichhe did on the 28th of August, 1841.

Taulo, an active, enterprising man, and a blind,though intelligent admirer of Balmes, conceived theidea of going to Paris and publishing the work inFrench. His acquaintance with several literati, editors


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48 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.and publishers of that capital; his practical knowledgeofthe book business, and ofthe country, were elementstoo favourable for Balmes not to avail himself of them.Besides, he naturally felt inclined to see the world, forBarcelona and Vich did not satisfy his longing curio-sity, and he knew that " men are instructed, improved,and perfected by literary excursions." As there existsno diary of his journey, for when he was asked why hedid not keep one, he answered, laying his hand on hisforehead, " I have the diary here," we will supply thewant from the notes of his companion. Taulo says :" Dr. Balmes, having accepted my proposal of trans-lating the 'Protestantism' into French, we started forParis at the end of April, 1842. We stopped atFigueras to dine, and several gentlemen availedthemselves of the opportunity to pay some atten-tions to my companion. At Perpignan we putup at the Hotel du Midi. Don Miguel de Foxawas there, and he took advantage of my ac-quaintance to have some conversation with Balmes.In Toulouse I presented him to my friend, FatherMagin Ferrer. I noticed that on several days mycompanion rose from table almost without eating any-thing, and thinking the French cookery did not agreewith him, I proposed we should live as far as possiblein Spanish style. It was then I found that it wascaused by his observance of the fast, and the absti-nence from certain food, although we were dispensedon the journey. In Bordeaux, when the Archbishopof Saragossa heard of our arrival, he sent a messageto Dr. Balmes to say that his health did not permit


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Life of Rev. James Balmesy D.D. 49him to call at our lodgings, but he would have greatpleasure in seeing Balmes. The answer of my com-panion was : ' Tell the archbishop I will go to visithim at once/ And taking me by the arm we went tothe Grand Seminaire, where the archbishop lived ; andhe received Dr. Balmes with all politeness, and ratifiedthe dispensation from fasting and abstinence ofwhich,however, my companion did not avail himself." In Paris he took a room in the Rue de SaintHonore, No. 357. We went to visit the Marquis deAlfarrax, Don Antonio Gironella, M. Bonetti, Directorof the Unversite Catholique^ Don F. Martinez de laRosa, the Count de Toreno, the Count de Orgilla, theMarquis de Rotavo, the General of the Jesuits, andother persons of distinction, who bestowed on Balmesmany marks of respect and friendship. In four or fivedays after our arrival he himself began to translatehis 'Protestantism* into French, and submitted thecopy to M. Blanche. As I had been in London Iurged my companion to go to that capital to examinethe great libraries and precious things of all sorts itcontained. 'I will go,' he answered, 'but I mustlearn English first.' Don Jose M. Comes wanted toprocure a professor of that language for him ; butBalmes would not hear of it. He bought an Englishgrammar, and in a short time he read and understoodEnglish. To acquire the pronunciation he used tolisten to any of the Englishmen we met on the street,and he was soon able to understand and make himselfunderstood. I confess he astounded me."From a letter Balmes wrote to his friends, dated


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5o Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.Paris, i gth of September, 1842, we quote the followingextracts :" You will ask me what I think of Paris and London : well and ill, ill andwell; much and little, little and much ; they are beautiful and ugly, ugly andbeautiful ; men and things have their more or less, their infinite phases, theirinnumerable aspects. But you will add, have you not been astonished ?You know I am a sort of old, hard-headed, satirical Christian, not easy toexcite, but above all, an admirer of that famous saying of St. Cyprian, whoknew well what he was about when he exalted the dignity of the humansoul : ' that man lowers his greatness who wonders at anything which isnot God.' . . . You shall find me something about the same as when Ileft you. Quidfacias ? . . . You see I have not forgotten my Latin ; norhave I lost my affection for old books. You know I have got it into myhead that those old fellows knew something. I am looking through dust-covered volumes in these libraries, and making these Messieurs trot aboutexamining forgotten corners of the Royal Library. Don't show

these linesto the gentlemen a la derniere, for they will only lift their eyebrows andsay, ' the man is incorrigible ;' and the worst or the best of it is that he willcontinue in his own track till he goes to await the resurrection, in which isthe truth, as here my paper ends. "BALMES."These last words of his letter, though they appear

to have familiarly escaped from his pen, confirm whatmany of his friends have told us, that his fixed, domi-nant thought was eternity. We shall hereafter seethat the great philosopher did not fear death as it isfeared by men in general. Balmes always lived pre-pared to die; hence he awaited tranquil and resignedthe moment he should have to abandon this transitoryworld, which he in his clear perception believed evenmore fleeting than it is ; hence all the ideas of thatprivileged understanding were concentrated in thissole one eternity. Balmes did not fear, for he hadfaith and hope ; his faith and his hope were lively and


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 51ardent as his genius. " I am now/' he used to say tosome of his friends, "twenty-eight, or thirty, or thirty-five years of age ; in twenty more Balmes will be donewith the world. This is a passing shadow. There " (hewould add, pointing to heaven), " there is eternity ;there is the truth, for there is God/' In Vich as inBarcelona, in Cervera as in Madrid, in Paris as inLondon, in his study as on the street, in the sanctuaryas in a corner of a bookseller's shop, it was eternity,ever eternity.In the meantime the name of the writer of Vich

flew through the four corners of intellectual Europe.Who is Balmes ? eminent professors, learned men, themost distinguished philosophers of the civilized worldwould ask. Who is that Spaniard, the honour of hisage, who treads so resolutely the hidden regions ofall the sciences, and confounds his antagonists ? His" Protestantism" was Balmes' great production. "Thisis my work," he sometimes said in our presence.Everyone knows that when writing it he aimed at re-futing some doctrines of M. Guizot. He fought handto hand in intellectual combat with this celebratedFrench writer, and conquered him. He impatientlyawaited a renewal of the contest. " If Guizot answers,"he used to say, " I have four other volumes in myhead to reply." But Guizot and France did not ven-ture on new combat.

Several French writers and newspapers, amongthem the Gazette and Correspondent, rendered the"Protestantism" and its author a homage all themore glorious as it came from a country which boasts


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52 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.of leading the van of modern culture. We omitreferring to the praises of various Spanish writers,lest they might be considered the offspring of a senti-ment different from true admiration. "This work,"says its author, " was published in the beginning of1844, and in August, 1846, the sale of the secondedition was far advanced. It was translated in Paris,and in Rome no censure was passed on it : I appealto all the Spanish bishops to say whether they haveever found fault with it. On the contrary, I was con-gratulated by word and in writing by almost all ofthem; the Cardinal of Seville, the Archbishops ofTarragona and of Santiago, the bishops of Pamplona,of Palencia, Cordova, Barcelona, the Canaries, Tuy,Calahorra, Coria, and Salamanca, receiving from allproofs of affection and assurances that my labourspleased them . . . The English bishop, Wiseman,wrote me to the same effect. The translation of the'Protestantism' made in Rome, the first two volumesof which I have before me, is a sign that the workwas favourably received in the capital of the Christianworld, particularly if we add that more than two yearsago the Chief Pontiff, Gregory XVI., received a copyof it. The celebrated Father Perrone, of the Societyof Jesus, in his ' Compendium of Theology,' refers toit thus : * Recently the Spaniard Balmes has struckout a new path, when in a continuous parallel betweenthe Catholic religion and Protestantism he showed ina solid manner the good the former did to civil societyand the evil the latter has produced.' >:When he speaks in his "Vindication" of the works


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Life of Rev. James Palmes, D.D. 53he has published, he dedicates only one line to theCriteria* that sublime production, the more admiredand appreciated the more profoundly it is studied.Few, indeed, in this age of novels and newspapersdedicate themselves to the abstract sciences. Involvedin the whirlpool of politics ; more or less identifiedwith the events of the age, which might be calledromantic if it were not so disastrous ; ever dependenton the presentwithout object in the future, men inclinedto letters have not that quietude needed for studies ofthis sort. This explanation, though it is not an excuse,affects all writers and readers. But among the fewlearned men who, though they follow fearlessly thevicissitudes of public life, never abandon their fixedpurpose, Balmes deserves a high place. During thebombardment of Barcelona by Espartero, in 1842, hebecame a fugitive from the town an unwilling fugi-tive for he was dragged away by his relatives. Hetook refuge in a house in the country without otherbooks than his Breviary, " Kempis," and the Bible ;and while the cannon roared in his ears, Balmes thephilosopher, Balmes the contemplative, wrote in thatmonth of sad reminiscences his immortal Criteria.Absorbed in his religious and scientific meditations,he renewed in a certain measure the example ofArchimedes, who pursued his silent studies while theRoman army was sowing devastation in and aroundSyracuse. We were told in Barcelona that Don JuanZafout, Abbot of St. Paul, on reading the Criteria,

* El Criteria means Judgment*


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54 Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D.exclaimed : " Blessed bombardment, which gave ussuch a work as this," It seems incredible that Balmescould have written the Criterio in a month, andyet we are assured he did so.

Besides the Criteria and a "Treatise on theConduct Ecclesiastics should Observe in Dealingwith Unbelievers," our author published his " Lettersto a Sceptic on Religious Matters." " The first four-teen," he says, " appeared in the Society, and the othereleven deal with points of great importance. Thiscollection may be considered as an apology of reli-gion, written with the pleasing variety peculiar tothe epistolary style. The circumstance that all theLetters are addressed to a sceptic, renders it possibleto present the proofs, the difficulties and the solu-tions, under an aspect accommodated to the spirit ofthe age."Balmes arrived in Madrid in 1844, and founded anewspaper called the Natioris Idea (ElPensamiento dela Nation^), in which he advocated the marriage ofher Majesty, Isabella II., with the Count of Monte-molin, son of Charles V., a marriage which wouldhave united the two Spains the Carlist and theLiberal and brought peace to the nation. In thisadvocacy, unfortunately, he was not successful, andwhen her Majesty was married to her cousin, DonFrancisco de Assis, and her sister to the Duke deMontpensier, he brought his labours to a close, anddedicated himself to other work. The Pensamientomarks an epoch in the history of the Spanish Press.It was written with all Balmes' clearness of expres-


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Life of Rev. James Balmes, D.D. 55sion and force of logic, which confounded all adver-saries, who did not know what to make of the newwriter, and called him a literary athlete and sphinx,while its tone was always elevated and noble.The stopping of Balmes' paper was regretted byfriends and foes. The former wished the Pensamientoto continue, though its principal object was now be-yond discussion. " Let Balmes speak, let Balmesspeak : if the Queen be married and this subject can-not be touched, but is outside the pale of polemicssustained for the space of three years with suchcleverness and glory to the illustrious publicist, thereare many other subjects of interest which can behandled." " Write, write, James ; your friend Ristolentreats you." " I cannot do so, my dear Anthony ;lofty reasons oblige me to remain silent."We will now break the monotonous narrative of thescientific labours of Balmes, to give a short accountof his private life. He usually rose at five o'clockin the morning ; he spent half an hour in prayer inpreparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, inwhich he spent another half-hour, and the same timein thanksgiving, He then took chocolate, reading, ifalone, Kempis or the Bible, and then he went to hisstudy and examined the newspapers, after which hecommenced his literary work. In general, he wrotehimself the copy, though he sometimes had amanu-enses. Very few writers could follow his dictation ;and, as he never stopped, he used to say "he feltpained to see them sitting three or four hours withoutlifting their eyes or dropping their pen." If they


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56 Life of Rev. James Balmes , D.D.smoked, he allowed them to light a cigar occasionally." So copious was Balmes' knowledge, and so privi-ledged his emission of ideas,'' says Ristol, " that hesometimes assured me that he could easily dictate totwo amanuenses on any questions which might bemarked out for him."

His labours were usually interrupted by visits andepistolary correspondence. He did not generally delaythe answers, and if asked to do anything for a friendin Madrid, he did it at once. Whilst he lived in thePlaza de las Cortes he dined at two ; when he tooklodgings in No. 4 Calle de Leganitos, where he livedwith Don Louis Perez, manager of the Pensamiento,he commenced to dine at five o'clock in the evening ;but, as he never breakfasted, he began to complain ofweakness, and returned to his old habit of dining attwo and supping at ten at night, always very frugally.He sometimes suffered from violent pains in the sto-mach, and his usual remedy was a regimen, which heregarded as a panacea. He rigorously observed thefasts and abstinences prescribed by the Church. Inthe evening he took a walk in the Retiro or in theFuente Castellana, alone or accompanied by somefriend. After the walk he w

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